updated 11:52 am EST, Wed December 11, 2013

Tablets, smartphones gain free Spotify service, Led Zeppelin albums

Spotify has rolled out its free music streaming service to tablets and smartphones, just as speculated by reports last week, along with a number of other announcements. While the tablet version of the app will have a similar service to that of the free desktop version, smartphone users will be forced to use a new free "Shuffle" mode instead.

The tablet edition will be supported by advertising, just like the desktop version, though users will be able to pay $9.99 per month for premium, which will remove advertising from all versions and provide offline playback. The smartphone "Shuffle" mode is relatively similar to the current Radio mode, except that users can select an artist or playlist to listen to, though they will not have control over what tracks will get played. Premium users on smartphones will also have full normal access to the service, rather than the neutered, ad-supported version.

Updated versions of the app for tablet and smartphones are available to download through the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android users.

At the same time, Spotify revealed it has managed to open itself up to an extra 20 markets, predominantly in South America, bringing the service to a total of 55 countries. Spotify also revealed it is making Led Zeppelin's albums available to stream, with Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II hitting the service today, and other albums rolling out throughout the rest of the week. The full Led Zeppelin catalog of studio and live albums will be available on Spotify by Sunday, December 15th.